Saturday. September 21, 2019 • 4:10 p.m.
Great American Ball Park • Cincinnati, OH
RHP Zack Wheeler (11-7, 4.09) vs. RHP Anthony DeSclafani (9-9, 3.93)
PIX11 • WCBS 880 AM • ESPN 1050 AM

The Mets did everything they had to do yesterday, but so did several teams so stress level for the Mets got a bit higher. The Cubs and Phillies both lost, bringing the former closer to the Mets and pushing the latter farther behind but the Brewers and Nationals both won, causing the Mets elimination number to drop. The Mets, though, had an excellent game. 

Jacob deGrom further padded a resume for a second consecutive Cy Young award, Alonso hit his 50th homer of the season and the Mets won decisively by a score of 8-1. Every game is a “must-win” day so they have to rev it up again.

Mets Lineup 

  1. Brandon Nimmo  CF
  2. Jeff McNeil  LF
  3. Pete Alonso  1B
  4. Robinson Cano  2B
  5. Wilson Ramos  C
  6. Michael Conforto  RF
  7. Todd Frazier  3B
  8. Amed Rosario  SS
  9. Zack Wheeler  P

Reds Lineup

  1. Phillip Ervin  LF
  2. Joey Votto  1B
  3. Eugenio Suarez  3B
  4. Aristides Aquino  RF
  5. Tucker Barnhart  C
  6. Jose Iglesias  SS
  7. Brian O’Grady  CF
  8. Derek Dietrich  2B
  9. Anthony DeSclafani  P

Zack Wheeler is 11-7 over 29 starts and 180.1 innings with a 4.09 ERA, 3.50 FIP, 1.292 WHIP, and 100 ERA+. In his last four starts, he has allowed 4 runs over 25.0 innings from 27 hits and seven walks which has led to some interesting stat line combinations: a 1.44 ERA with opponents hitting .276/.324/.330 against him. He’s looking to fare better against the Reds then he did earlier this season where he allowed four runs over six innings from seven hits and three walks. The Reads have the following numbers against him:

The Mets draw New Jersey native Anthony DeSclafani who is 9-9 over 29 starts and 155.2 innings this season posting a 3.93 ERA, 4.53 FIP, 1.201 WHIP, and 116 ERA+. After allowing seven runs, six earned, in 13 innings across his first two September starts, he rebounded in his last start, holding the Diamondbacks to one run over seven innings. Earlier this season against the Mets he allowed no runs over 5.2 innings in a game the Reds eventually won 1-0. The Mets have the following numbers against Anthony:

Game Notes

Robinson Cano is batting .385 (25-65) with 14 runs, seven doubles, four homers, eight RBI, seven walks, a .438 OBP, a .677 SLG and a 1.115 OPS over his last 19 games. He has safely reached based in each of his last 18 starts. Since returning from the 10-Day IL, Cano is batting .326 (15-46) with seven runs, three doubles, three home runs, five RBI, six walks and a .983 OPS.

Since being activated, Brandon Nimmo has reached safely in 27 of his 57 plate appearances, posting a .293/.474/.659 slash line in 17 games. Has a .457 OBP in his last 27 games (May 7-20 and September 1-present) with 24 walks in that
span. He is currently on a five-game hitting streak, going 7-20 with four runs, a triple, two homers, five RBI, two walks and a 1.159 OPS in that span.

New York’s .642 (40-23) second-half winning percentage is the third-best in the NL and the fourth-best in the majors. The pitching staff has a 3.53 ERA since the All-Star break, the fifth-lowest mark in the majors and the third-best in the NL. Only St. Louis (3.27) and Los Angeles (3.53) own lower ERAs in the NL. The staff has surrendered 67 homers in the second half, the second-fewest in the majors.

The Mets have homered in eight straight road games, belting 19 home runs in that span. Over the Mets have hit 113 home runs in 79 games on the road this season. This marks the sixth time in franchise history that the team has recorded at least 100 home runs on the road. This is the second-highest total in Mets history. The franchise record is 123 set in 2017.

No rookie in baseball’s “modern era” has finished a season as the majors’ outright leader in homers. Two rookies since 1900 tied for the most home runs in a season: Tim Jordan for Brooklyn in 1906 (12 homers) and Mark McGwire with Oakland in 1987 (49). Pete Alonso currently leads the league with 50 homers, which is two more than Eugenio Suarez has.

Let’s Go Mets!